Head to Head Contrast: Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.A) & SGS (OTCMKTS:SGSOY)

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.A) and SGS (OTCMKTS:SGSOY) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

22.6% of Crawford & Company shares are held by institutional investors. 54.3% of Crawford & Company shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Crawford & Company has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SGS has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Crawford & Company and SGS, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crawford & Company	0	0	1	0	3.00
SGS	1	3	2	2	2.62

Crawford & Company currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 27.10%. Given Crawford & Company’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Crawford & Company is more favorable than SGS.

Profitability

This table compares Crawford & Company and SGS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crawford & Company	1.37%	24.21%	5.46%
SGS	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Crawford & Company pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. SGS pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Crawford & Company pays out 83.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Crawford & Company and SGS”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crawford & Company	$1.31 billion	0.41	$19.63 million	$0.36	30.60
SGS	$8.38 billion	2.71	$806.28 million	N/A	N/A

SGS has higher revenue and earnings than Crawford & Company.

Summary

Crawford & Company beats SGS on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Company provides claims management and outsourcing solutions to the risk management and insurance industry, and self-insured entities. The company's Crawford Claims Solutions segment offers claims management services related to property, casualty, and catastrophe losses caused by physical damage to commercial and residential real properties, and personal properties, as well as marine losses. It also offers services in the areas of field investigation, catastrophe, evaluation, and resolution of property and casualty insurance claims; and various on-demand inspection, verification, and other task specific field services for businesses and consumers through a mobile platform. Its Crawford TPA Solutions segment provides claims and risk management services; desktop claim adjusting and claims evaluation services; initial loss reporting services for claimants; loss mitigation services, such as medical bill review and case management, and vocational rehabilitation services; and risk management information services, as well as administers trust funds established to pay claims. It offers services for workers' compensation, auto and liability, disability absence and medical management, and accident and health markets. The company's Crawford Specialty Solutions segment offers claims management services related to large and complex losses in various industries, such as commercial property, aviation, forensic accounting, marine and transportation, retail, building and construction, cyber, and energy. It also provides a customer-centric solution for various loss types comprising high-frequency and low-complexity claims, and large complex repairs; and outsourced contractor management services to personal and commercial insurance carriers, and consumer markets. The company operates in the United States, the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. Crawford & Company was founded in 1941 and is based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.

About SGS

SGS SA provides inspection, testing, and verification services in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Connectivity & Products, Health & Nutrition, Industries & Environment, Natural Resources, and Business Assurance. The company provides laboratory testing, product inspection and consulting, process assessment, technical and transactional assistance; and automotive, connectivity, softlines and accessories, and hardgoods, toys, and juvenile products, as well as government and trade facilitation services. In addition, it offers a range of testing, inspection and certification solutions for the crop science, food, health science, and cosmetics and hygiene industries; field services, technical assessment, and advisory services; and services related to industrial, public health and safety, environmental testing, and public mandates. Further, it provides assessment, auditing, and certification, supply chain assurance, training, consulting, and sustainability assurance services; agricultural commodities, geochemistry, laboratory testing petroleum and chemicals, metallurgy and consulting, mineral and metal commodities, and oil, gas, and chemical commodities; and sustainability solutions. The company serves the agriculture and food, chemical, construction, consumer and retail, energy, industrial manufacturing, life sciences, mining, oil and gas, public, and transportation sectors. SGS SA was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.